Longley came off the bench to stun the Redskins with a TD pass to Pearson on Thanksgiving Day.

IRVING, Texas - With the Cowboys celebrating a half-century of football in 2010, DallasCowboys.com is reliving the entire journey, from winless upstart to the most valuable, relevant professional franchise in the sport.

From February to July we'll recap each season in detail, remembering the people, games, plays and moments which fostered the legend of America's Team.

We continue today with the story of the 1974 season:

By the start of the 1974 season, the Dallas Cowboys were established as not only one of the top teams in the NFL, but easily the most consistent.

If they weren't winning a championship, the Cowboys were at least contending for one. But the team took a big step back in 1974, finishing the year at 8-6 to snap its nine-year streak of postseason appearances.

Looking deeper into the schedule, the Cowboys uncharacteristically got off to a slow start. In the previous nine seasons, the club had won at least the first two games of every campaign. But in 1974, after shutting out the Falcons 24-0 on the road to open the year, the Cowboys lost four straight games - three of them by three points or less. But that put the team in a 1-4 hole, and although they won six out of their last eight games, it just wasn't enough to put the Cowboys into the playoffs once again.

MVP: The Cowboys didn't have many star players in 1974, but they could certainly run the football. The Cowboys led the NFL in rushing, and while Calvin Hill made another Pro Bowl with a team-high 844 yards and seven touchdowns, the right side of the offensive line was becoming dominant. The duo of guard Blaine Nye and tackle Rayfield Wright both made the Pro Bowl and proved to be a driving force for the offensive success the Cowboys enjoyed this season, particularly on the ground. For Wright, it was his fourth straight Pro Bowl appearance, and he would go on to claim two more.

Biggest Win: Undoubtedly, the Thanksgiving Day win over the Redskins goes down as one of the biggest moments in franchise history. Only a handful of games are referred to by just one player. You've got the Jason Garrett game, the Emmitt Smith game (although there have been too many to count, but probably the 1993 Giants game would be the one) . . . and you've got the Clint Longley game. In 1974, Roger Staubach had been knocked out cold by a stingy Redskins defense and the chances of mounting a comeback seemed rather bleak, especially with young Clint Longley taking over. But with just one heave, a 50-yard bomb from Longley to Drew Pearson in the final minute of play, the Cowboys completed a remarkable 24-23 comeback over the hated Redskins.

Toughest Loss: The Cowboys had more of these tough losses than they were used to in 1974, but ironically enough, the most critical loss actually came to the Redskins, just 11 days before the Longley-to-Pearson touchdown on Thanksgiving. On Nov. 17 in Washington, the Cowboys found themselves down 28-0 to the Redskins only to rally for three touchdowns, including two to tight end Billy Joe DuPree. The Cowboys had a chance to tie the game late with a first-and-goal at the Redskins' 7 with just over three minutes to play. But Staubach threw two straight incomplete passes on third and fourth down, looking for Drew Pearson, and the Redskins survived with the win. Washington finished the season at 10-4, but had the Cowboys won that game, they would've completed a season sweep and both tied at 9-5.

Rare Stat: The longest punt return in Cowboys history occurred in 1974 as rookie Dennis Morgan took a punt 98 yards for a score against the Cardinals. Morgan, a 10th-round pick, led the team in both punt return yards (287) and kickoff return yards (823) that season.

Best Acquisition: While getting Ed "Too Tall" Jones with the No. 1 pick in the draft was a rather good addition, that seemed to be a pretty easy choice. But when the Cowboys sent Tody Smith and Billy Parks to the Houston Oilers for the top pick, they also acquired the 53rd selection in the draft as well. And with that pick, the Cowboys took Arizona State quarterback Danny White, who not only backed up Staubach for a few years, but went on to have a pretty solid career as the starting quarterback for about eight seasons, setting numerous team records along the way.

Check Out The 1974 Team History Page